What Would Mohammad Do?

Looking for reasonable Muslim voices out there in media-land?  Well, I found one, Nahed Eltantawy, a professor at High Point University, and she has a terrific column in the Greensboro News & Record:

"Probably every Muslim has heard the story of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and his non-Muslim neighbor.

Every day this neighbor would throw garbage in the prophet’s way so as to irritate him, and every day the prophet would walk away peacefully. One day, the prophet walked out of his house and did not find his neighbor who threw garbage. What did the prophet do? He knocked on the neighbor’s door and asked her if she was all right. The neighbor, who had fallen ill, felt very ashamed by her actions.

The moral of the story? Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) never once used anger, let alone violence, to respond to his neighbor, or to others who expressed hatred and violence toward him. Why, then, are some Muslims using rage and violence to honor and defend their prophet? Why can’t we follow in his path and learn from his teachings?"

 Sell it to the street, my lady!